A glimmer of hope for tenants

An eight-year-old class-action lawsuit brought against the New London Housing Authority on behalf of tenants of the Thames River Apartments was resolved in August when the parties agreed to allow Superior Court Judge David M. Sheridan to oversee redevelopment of the federally subsidized high-rise apartments over the next three years. If the housing authority meets its deadlines under the stipulated judgment, construction of new housing for low-income families could begin in November 2017.

The two sides reached agreement as the case headed to trial. Attorney Robert I. Reardon Jr., who reprsented the tenants pro bono, said 17 tenants signed up to testify and show the court photographs they had taken of unsafe and unsanitary conditions in their buildings.

"You don't know what it means to us and our kids," a tenant told the judge after he signed the agreement.